Dify vs Glean

Dify is an open-source, no-code platform for visually building AI agents, workflows, and RAG pipelines that developers configure and deploy, while Glean is an…

Best for Dify: Dify fits developers and technical teams building custom AI agents and RAG pipelines from scratch using a visual Workflow Studio, with a free self-hosted Community Edition (149K+ GitHub stars) or a Cloud Sandbox tier requiring no installation.
Best for Glean: Glean fits enterprises that need permission-aware search and AI agents across dozens of existing systems (Slack, Confluence, GitHub, Salesforce) without building custom pipelines, supporting 35+ different LLMs and backed by SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance.

At a Glance

 DifyGlean
Primary categoryAIAI
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemium/Subscription + Open Source self-hostedUsage-based
Starting priceFree (Sandbox); self-hosted Community edition also freeContact for pricing (est. $45-50/user/month + AI add-on, 100-user minimum)
Free planYesNot documented
Free trialYesNot documented
PlatformsWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesYes
Public APIYesYes

Key Differences

Core Approach

Dify: Dify is a visual, node-based builder for constructing agentic workflows, RAG knowledge pipelines, and custom tools/plugins from the ground up.

Glean: Glean is a pre-built enterprise Work AI platform that connects to existing systems (Slack, Google Drive, Jira, Confluence, SharePoint, GitHub, Salesforce) to power search and automation without requiring custom pipeline construction.

Building custom agents versus connecting to and searching existing company knowledge are fundamentally different starting points that suit different technical maturity levels.

Pricing Transparency

Dify: Dify publishes tiered pricing: a free Sandbox (200 message credits), Professional ($590/year), Team ($1,590/year), and a free self-hosted Community Edition.

Glean: Glean does not list public prices; it requires a sales demo to get a quote, consistent with its custom/enterprise pricing model.

Published pricing lets smaller teams self-serve, while custom pricing typically means a longer enterprise sales cycle.

Open Source & Self-Hosting

Dify: Dify's Community Edition is open source and can be self-hosted for free via Docker Compose, with an Enterprise self-hosted/VPC option also available.

Glean: Glean does not document an open-source or self-hosted option; it is positioned as a cloud enterprise platform.

Self-hosting and open-source access matter for organizations wanting infrastructure control or wanting to inspect/modify the underlying code.

LLM Flexibility

Dify: Dify's Marketplace provides access to model providers and MCP-compatible integrations, letting teams choose and swap models within workflows.

Glean: Glean explicitly states support for 35+ different large language models rather than locking customers into a single provider.

Multi-LLM support avoids vendor lock-in to a single model provider and lets teams pick the best model for cost or capability.

Permission-Aware Search

Dify: Dify's documented features focus on building agent workflows and RAG pipelines; a permission-aware enterprise search layer across existing company systems is not documented.

Glean: Glean provides enterprise search that respects each user's existing access permissions across connected systems like SharePoint and Salesforce.

Permission-aware search is critical for large organizations that need AI search to respect existing document and data access controls rather than exposing everything to everyone.

Feature-by-Feature

Core Features

FeatureDifyGlean
Visual/no-code agent builderAvailableNot documented
Pre-built enterprise app connectorsNot documentedAvailable
Permission-aware searchNot documentedAvailable
RAG knowledge pipelineAvailableNot documented
Multi-LLM supportNot documentedAvailable

Pricing & Plans

FeatureDifyGlean
Published pricingAvailableUnavailable
Free tierAvailableUnavailable
Self-hosted free optionAvailableNot documented

Security & Compliance

FeatureDifyGlean
SOC 2 Type IIAvailableAvailable
ISO 27001AvailableAvailable
HIPAA complianceNot documentedAvailable
GDPR complianceNot documentedAvailable
ISO 42001 (AI-specific)Not documentedAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Dify

Sandbox — Free N/A
Professional — $59/month (~$590/year annual) Monthly or Annual
Team — $159/month (~$1,590/year annual) Monthly or Annual
Community (self-hosted) — Free N/A
Enterprise — Custom Annual (quote-based)

Glean

Enterprise — Custom quote (est. $45-50/user/month base) Annual, typical 100-user minimum
Enterprise + AI Add-on — Custom quote (+ est. $15/user/month) Annual

Pros & Cons

Dify

Pros

  • Genuinely open-source and self-hostable core, avoiding vendor lock-in
  • Model-agnostic support across all major LLM providers
  • Integrated RAG and agent stack reduces the need to stitch together separate tools
  • Accessible visual builder usable by both developers and less technical team members

Cons

  • Cloud plan message-credit limits can be restrictive for high-volume production apps
  • Open-source license includes restrictions on certain multi-tenant SaaS resale use cases
  • Enterprise-grade governance features require custom, quote-based pricing
  • Younger company (founded 2023) with a smaller support ecosystem than established players like LangChain

Glean

Pros

  • Deep, permission-aware connector library covering 100+ enterprise applications
  • Founding team's background at Google Search and Rubrik brings strong technical credibility
  • Rapid growth to roughly 200 million dollars in annual recurring revenue reflects strong market validation
  • Glean Apps and APIs extend the platform beyond search into a full enterprise AI agent builder
  • Well-capitalized with roughly 765 million dollars raised, supporting continued R&D investment

Cons

  • Pricing is not transparent and typically requires enterprise sales engagement
  • Total cost of ownership can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for larger deployments
  • Typical 100-seat minimum puts it out of reach for small and mid-size businesses
  • Faces direct competition from Microsoft Copilot, which has natural distribution advantages inside Microsoft 365 shops
  • Implementation and integration complexity can add significant upfront cost and time

Use Cases

Choose Dify: Dify fits developers and technical teams building custom AI agents and RAG pipelines from scratch using a visual Workflow Studio, with a free self-hosted Community Edition (149K+ GitHub stars) or a Cloud Sandbox tier requiring no installation.
Choose Glean: Glean fits enterprises that need permission-aware search and AI agents across dozens of existing systems (Slack, Confluence, GitHub, Salesforce) without building custom pipelines, supporting 35+ different LLMs and backed by SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance.
Need both: A large enterprise could use Glean as its permission-aware knowledge layer across Slack, SharePoint, and Salesforce for company-wide search and pre-built agents, while a product or engineering team separately uses Dify to build custom, purpose-specific AI workflows and RAG applications that go beyond what Glean's out-of-the-box connectors and agents cover.

Dify

  • Internal knowledge-base chatbots — Teams build RAG-based assistants that answer questions grounded in private company documents.
  • Customer support automation — Companies build AI agents and chatbots that handle customer inquiries using Dify's workflow builder.
  • AI SaaS product development — Independent developers and startups build and ship AI-powered SaaS products on top of Dify's orchestration layer.

Glean

  • Enterprise knowledge search — Employees use Glean to search across dozens of disconnected workplace tools from a single interface and get relevant, permission-respecting results.
  • AI-assisted answers grounded in company data — Teams use Glean Assistant to get natural-language answers synthesized from internal documents, wikis, and tickets instead of manually searching multiple systems.
  • Custom AI agent development — Enterprises use Glean Apps and APIs to build custom AI agents that securely leverage the company's permissioned knowledge index.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dify a substitute for Glean's enterprise search?

Not directly. Dify is a build-your-own toolkit for AI agents and RAG pipelines, while Glean provides pre-built, permission-aware search across existing enterprise systems like Slack, SharePoint, and Salesforce. Dify doesn't document a permission-aware search layer of the kind Glean offers out of the box.

Does Glean have published pricing?

No. Glean does not list public prices and requires a sales demo to get a quote. Dify, by contrast, publishes tiered Cloud pricing (Sandbox free, Professional $590/year, Team $1,590/year) plus a free self-hosted Community Edition.

Can Dify be self-hosted?

Yes. Dify's Community Edition is open source and can be self-hosted for free via Docker Compose, and an Enterprise self-hosted/VPC option is also available. Glean does not document a self-hosted option.

How many LLMs does each platform support?

Glean states explicit support for 35+ different large language models. Dify provides access to model providers through its Marketplace but does not publish a specific LLM count.

Which tool is more compliance-certified for regulated industries?

Glean documents a broader compliance set: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, and GDPR. Dify's Enterprise tier documents SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, but HIPAA and GDPR certifications are not specifically listed.

Do I need engineering resources to use these tools?

Dify is built as a no-code visual workflow builder but is positioned toward developers building custom agents and RAG pipelines, with a CLI (difyctl) for CI/CD. Glean is positioned as a more turnkey enterprise platform connecting to existing systems, though implementation still typically involves IT/admin setup for connectors and permissions.

Read the full Dify review · Read the full Glean review